Hemsley & Hemsley Chia Chai Butternut Breakfast Pudding

SERVES 2–4

This is an overnight breakfast or make-ahead dessert. We’ve infused omega-3-rich chia seeds with our favourite rooibos chai breakfast tea and together they turn the usually savoury butternut squash into a sweet start to the day. Gently heating up the pudding before layering with the Mango Cashew Cream (page 49) is our favourite way to breakfast and warm our bellies in the autumn. This is so yummy that you’ll also fancy it as a cool, creamy dessert.We love it with summer fruits, such as blackberries, grapes, figs, plums or peaches, which are just in season as butternut comes in. In the winter months, try apple chunks, chopped clementines or blood orange.

If you bake the butternut squash the night before, then it’s ready to go in the morning. Don’t forget to chew well in order to get the most goodness out of the tiny chia seeds.

4 tbsp white chia seeds (we used white chia to keep the pudding’s bright orange colour, but black also works – and is cheaper and easier to find too!)

3 tbsp coconut oil

1 tbsp raw honey

OPTIONAL

Coconut Yoghurt (pages 305–306) and goji berries,to serve

1 Preheat the oven to fan 180°C/Gas mark 6 and roast the butternut squash in the oven for 40–50 minutes until cooked through and tender. Scoop out 400 g of the squash flesh and mash well. Any leftover squash can be frozen and used in a soup or smoothie.

2 Add the squash to a saucepan with 350 ml water, the coconut oil and the tea leaves (or the contents of the tea bags, if using). Bring to a medium simmer, then remove from the heat and leave to cool for a few minutes.

3 Stir in the chia seeds, continuously whisking at first to avoid lumps, then add the honey.

4 Leave to sit for at least 20 minutes to an hour for the chia to swell (unless you like it crunchy). Alternatively, transfer to a flask and by the time you get to work, you’ll have a nice warm chia breakfast pudding.

5 Add the Coconut Yoghurt and goji berries, if using, and enjoy.

TO MAKE A CREAMY DESSERT, take a jar or glass and layer up the Chia Chai Butternut Breakfast Pudding with Mango Cashew Cream (page 49) and scatter 2 handfuls of seasonal fruit, such as blackberries, between the layers.Top with more fruit and enjoy.

The Art Of Eating Well by Jasmine and Melissa Hemsley (Ebury Publishing, £25) Photography by Nick Hopper